Project Team

Dale Cope, Ph.D., is the Principal Investigator for the WRITE project. Cope is a Research Project Director on the maps team with Accessible Teaching, Learning, and Assessment Systems (ATLAS) at University of Kansas. Previously, she was the Research Project Director for the Enhanced Learning Maps (ELM) project to create maps and resources for grades 2–8 English language arts and mathematics general education standards. Those maps are now available to all Alaska teachers. Prior to the ELM project, Cope was the project manager for standards-setting for the Alaska Measures of Progress assessment. She was responsible for assembling a stratified cross-section of Alaska educators for that activity. Cope earned her PhD in Educational Leadership and Business Administration from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She also holds an M.Ed. in Curriculum Development and has previous experience as a career and technical education teacher and administrator.

Dr. Russell Swinburne Romine, associate director of ATLAS, holds a Ph.D. in educational psychology from the University of Minnesota. Swinburne Romine has more than 10 years of experience in the development of large-scale assessments using principles of Evidence-Centered Design and Universal Design for Learning. He oversees more than 70 staff members responsible for the design and delivery of operational assessments in ELA, mathematics, and science. In addition to his role as co-principal investigator on the Pathways for Instructionally Embedded Assessment (PIE) project, he is the principal investigator of the Shared Writing Instructional Model (SWIM) for Students with Intellectual Disabilities project and has been a co-investigator on two Enhanced Assessment Grants, Innovations in Science Maps, Assessment, and Reporting Technologies and the Use of Learning Maps as an Organizing Structure for Formative Assessment Project. He leads collaborative work with the National Center on Deaf-Blindness to develop learning map-based instructional resources for students with significant cognitive disabilities and dual sensory loss and is co-principal investigator on the Writing Interventions to Excel (WRITE) project, focused on instruction and assessment in writing for Alaska native students in high school career and technical education courses. He is a member of the American Educational Research Association, the National Council on Measurement in Education, and the Council for Exceptional Children. He has presented research nationally and contributed to technical reports for the Dynamic Learning Maps® (DLM®) Alternate Assessment Consortium and multiple funded projects.

Jennifer Kobrin, Ed.D., leads and contributes to ATLAS research and development projects. She earned her Ed.D. in educational statistics and measurement from Rutgers University and holds a master’s degree in educational research and evaluation from Boston College. Before joining ATLAS, she was a senior research scientist at Pearson and a research scientist at the College Board. Kobrin also spent three years directing institutional effectiveness and assessment offices in higher education. Her research interests include teachers’ use of formative assessment for instructional improvement, assessment development based on cognitive learning models, and assessment validity. Kobrin has co-authored numerous peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, technical reports, and conference papers on a variety of topics in educational measurement and assessment.

Rebecca Swinburne Romine, Ph.D., is an Associate Research Professor in the Research Design and Analysis Unit at the Life Span Institute at the University of Kansas. She has served as a co-investigator and statistical specialist on numerous NIH and IES funded projects in the areas of education and public health. Swinburne Romine is an expert in the areas of multilevel modeling, research design, and instrument development. At the Life Span Institute, she works on program evaluations and a wide range of other projects. Swinburne Romine contributes statistical and methodological work to small, single case design projects as well as large, randomized control studies.

Kandace Fleming, Ph.D., has expertise in multilevel and longitudinal analyses, single-subject and small sample statistical techniques, measurement, and instrument development. She is fluent in SPSS, SAS, and Mplus. Fleming has frequently served as co-principal investigator, co-investigator, or consultant as a quantitative methodologist on projects from NIH and IES in the areas of communication, educational intervention, individuals with disabilities, and public health. She has collaborated on numerous evaluations of educational interventions.

Steve Atwater, Ph.D., has more than 32 years of experience as an educator in the state of Alaska. Prior to retiring, Atwater served as the Executive Dean of the Alaska College of Education at the University of Alaska Southeast. He also served as Interim Dean of the School of Education, at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Atwater was first with the University of Alaska as an Associate Vice President for K-12 Outreach. He started his teaching career in the Lower Yukon School District. Atwater moved to the Lake and Peninsula School District and taught for five years before becoming the curriculum coordinator. He then served as the superintendent for almost 8 years. As the superintendent at Lake and Peninsula, he led a quality schools initiative that dramatically improved student achievement. From 2009 to 2014, he served as the superintendent of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, and in 2013, he was selected by his peers as Alaska’s Superintendent of the Year. Atwater holds an M.Ed. in curriculum and instruction and an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in education leadership from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania. Atwater has served on multiple nonprofit boards, including the board of Education Northwest and the Alaska SeaLife Center.